UMCOR

United Methodist Committee On Relief

Directors of the United Methodist Committee on Relief approved the allocation of $1.9 million in funds received for the denomination’s relief and recovery work involving hurricanes in 2008. The Methodist Church in Cuba, which already had received $275,000, was allotted an additional $200,000 to assist with recovery from a series of tropical storms and hurricanes. Other allocations went to the Florida Annual Conference, $100,000 for Tropical Storm Fay damage; Southwest Texas Conference, $40,000 to complete an earlier request for response to Hurricane Dolly; Louisiana Annual Conference, $420,000 to expand Katrina operations to assist victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike; and the Texas Annual Conference, $950,000 for Hurricane Ike recovery. UMCOR also set aside $190,000 for disaster-related church property repair in the United States.

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Interested in learning more about UMCOR and other kits its stocks? Read on!

What is UMCOR?

UMCOR is the Untied Methodist Committee on Relief and it is our national arm that services victims of disasters around the world.

What are UMCOR Kits?

Among the ways UMCOR serves victims of disaster is stocking essentials needed when disaster strikes in a warehouse so that they are ready for distribution where ever and whenever needed. UMCOR solicites the assembly of various emergency supply kits from United Methodists around the nation. Assembing one or more UMCOR kits is a really rewarding way to directly serve those in need. This is not simple "change in the plate" chairty. A kit of materials personally assembled by you will be handed to a needy person by UMCOR on your behalf. What better, more rewarding demonstration of our personal Christian love can we make?

What is the UMCOR Kit Challenge?

We at Stone have challenged ourselves to attempt to devleop 100 UMCOR kits for delivery to our Annual Conference in June.

What Kind of Kits Does UMCOR Need?

UMCOR attempts to be ready to meet all conceivable disaster needs. Therefore, it solicits many different types of kits for its warehouse. Among the kits you can assemble are:

Health Kits containing 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth, 1 hair comb (regular, not pocket size), 1 nail file or nail clipper contaning a file, 1 bath-size bar of soap in original, unopened container, 1 toothbursh in original sealed package, 1 large (not sample or travel size) tube of toothpaste, and 6 adhesive bandages. Wrap the items in the towl and tie with string/yarn. Then seal the towl in a 1 gallong zipper bag.

School Kits containing 1 pair of blunt scissors, 2 pads of 8.5" x 11" ruled paper, 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers, 12 sheets of construction paper, 1 30-cm ruler, 1 pencil sharpner, 1 2.5" eraser, and 1 box of 8 crayons. Package your items in a 12" x 14" cloth bag with handles and a velcro fastner, snap or button . You may choose to make your own bag--see the pattern at umc.org/umcor/schoolbagpattern.cfm.

Layett Kits containing 6 cloth diapers, 2 baby washcloths, 2 diaper pins, 2 receiving blankets, 2 shirts or onesies, 2 gowns or sleepers, 1 sewater, and one receiving blanket. Bundle the items in one of hte blankets, secure with the diaper pins.

Bedding Kits containing 2 flat, full-bed sheets, 2 pillows, and 2 pillow cases. Pack the new items in a 12" x 12" x 16" carton (available from moving companies).

Sewing Kits containing 3 years of cotton/cotton blend, solid or print fabric (one, new, uncut piece), 1 pair of sewing scissors, 1 spool of thread, 1 package of needles, and 6 matched buttons. Wrap the items in the fabric, tie with string or a strip of cloth and place in a gallon zipper bag.

Flood Kits (Buckets) containing 1 five-gallon bucket with resealable lid, 2 1-qt or 1 82-oz bleach, 5 scouring pads, 1 pair of canvas gloves, 50 clothes pins, 1 scrub brush, 18-ct reusable cleaning towels, 7-pack of sponges, assorted sizes, 1 box of laundry detergent (50 oz), 1 disinfectant dish soap (16-28 oz), 1 cotton clothesline (100' x 3/16"), 5-pack of dust masks, 2-pair package of latex gloves, 24 bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags (45 gal), 1 can insect repellent (14 oz), and 1 aerosal air freshner (8 or 9 oz). Place the items in the bucket and seal the lid. Original, sealed plastic bottles of all liquids, please.